Be social
Thanks for taking the time to post a new comment or a reply to one! First scan these quick notes, if you please:
General
* Currently, previewing a post is optional; you're welcome to preview or post immediately.
* You should see plain text input by default; click "enable rich text" for fancy formatting tools. (Some people love that and some don't. Be aware that formatting tool performance may vary by browser.)
* With apologies to all, "captcha" questions may face unregistered posters. Otherwise, the spam flow will dwarf the Nile.
Registration and login
* Registration is available! Sign up here. Chief benefits at present include the ability to edit your own comments, bookmark favorite content, and manage subscriptions (newsletter, threads, etc.).
* If you'd prefer to post as an unregistered visitor, that's welcome too. Just leave "Your name" as the default "Esteemed Visitor", or type in some other name. (But if you happen to type in a name used by a registered user – say, "tbone" – you'll get an error telling you so when you hit "post comment". And while your post text should still be there, waiting for a revised user name, there's a chance it could disappear.)
* If you're a registered user but haven't logged in and want to post a quick comment as Esteemed Visitor, that's fine; see above.
* If you're a registered user but haven't logged in, and enter your user name under "Your name" when posting, you'll get an error saying that's the name of a registered user. That's a good thing; it means strangers can't make posts under your user name! But as above, there's a chance of losing your post text. It's best to log in first here, and then start your posting.
Final
All the above is standard stuff for community web sites, but reminders are good; I hate post-related glitches, and hate to see people run into them on this site. On this or any site, it's a good practice to do a quick "Select All" and "Copy" on your post text before hitting "Preview comment" or "Post comment" – just in case.
For more on the whole topic of interaction with the site, please see User Interaction (opens in new window).
Patron advantage
How's everything?
Enjoying your Games Diner meal? Is the wait staff attentive? Is the chef bathed? (Then it must be a Sunday.) You do know that a little eggshell in the French toast adds calcium, right?
If the cramps haven't set in yet, I hope you'll say Hi to the chef or check out the many ways you can contribute to the Diner.
Now eat. Eat up! You're as thin as a rail.
Build a site!
Cast Seek Spell
THE TAKEOUT MENU
For collaborators, contributors, or the curious. Notice of site updates; project announcements; calls for playtesting; etc.
Adventures for GURPS beginners
Yes, standard GURPS layout would be good, plus the gazetteer format. ("Gazetteer" - there's a word I was searching for but haven't used in ages. Thanks!) The suggestion on location size is good too, though ideal size will of course vary with the physical spread of the society (and/or the setting's points of interest).
(Question: I note that Points of Light is system-neutral. Does that mean it has stats for many systems, or no stats at all?)
Re GURPS not being ready for use by the novice: Some GURPS worldbooks do contain setting info and adventures, so I wouldn't say there's no ready-to-play setting – but I think many players would agree that there's too little. For Banestorm, for example, I'm not aware of any ready-to-go adventures.
I played some D&D modules back in the day, and Keep on the Borderlands is a well-known module name, though I don't think I played it. From your description, I think it's something a single Adventures title for Banestorm could emulate: a core adventure (or series of linked ones), with enough supporting locations, characters, monsters, encounters etc. to make it ready-to-go. (That means an Adventures book would include some goodies that would also fall under the Bestiary, Encounters, Foes, Locations, and other Wish List concepts, but I don't see how you could have a stand-alone adventure supplement without those things.)
Actually, I think an Enclaves book could do the job as well, since (per my thinking) it would bundle setting, locations, people, challenges, etc., with at least one ready-to-go adventure, to make it playable out of the box. Essentially, as I envision it, an Enclaves book is an Adventures book, but with a bit more focus on location and setting, plus the "hook" that it introduces one of the briefly-mentioned minority Yrth societies.
Either way, whether Enclaves or some Adventures titles, I agree that it'd be great for GURPS newcomers to have some ready-to-play supplements in the fantasy field. I suppose the remedy begins with someone stepping up to plate with a proposal!